We've just launched our map. Add yourself by clicking here!
Philippines Precious Plastic end of year recap
- This topic has 3 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 2 years ago by
.
Saw the video… thought would share what went on in our little corner of the world for 2019.
January, things were very slow. We barely sold anything and funds were low.
Electricity was even cut off for a day due to no funds.
Feb things started moving. Ran some FB ads, lots of FB posts every day and sales went up. Got order for a project in Coron funded by Nomads Surfing. We took a shredder and injection molder down to their remote island.
March-April-May, Developed our new laser cut steel frame for the shredder instead of using the welded angle bar. We cut build time down greatly. We are now at 8 hours to buy materials and 8 hours to assemble one machine.
We went from ordering and building shredders 2 at a time to 10 at a time.
College students discovered the Precious Plastic project and are buying a lot of the shredder units to build out as thesis projects.
We sent machines all over the Philippines.
June-July August
We moved out of the big shop space we was using at another company. The commute was kinda long, and more importantly we was having parts misplaced with the other company projects. Summer was well underway also and the heat was unbearable. 50c during the day the norm. Moved back to the shop in my house where I had air conditioning. The extra electricity more than offsets the greatly increased production.
Aug-Sept October,
We started buying parts in greater quantities. Transport in Manila is a big hassle because the traffic is some of the worlds worst. So with the sales of the shredders, we started buying bolts by the thousands instead of the hundreds. saving many trips to the store.
We started averaging 1 shredder a week going out the door.
We at this time had 3 full time people. However one quit in October, and one was fired. Thanks to Precious Plastic we also purchased a used Ford for work trips.
We set up a Precious Plastic workshop just like in the videos at the Thames International school in Quezon City. People can now book time to use all the Precious Plastic machines.
The Lighthouse Project in the Subic Free trade zone (former US Navy base) held a beach cleanup in conjunction with the international coastal cleanup day. over 300 people took part and we had a Precious Plastic shredder processing all the used plastic after it was sorted, and cataloged as to what was found.
November, December
Complete shredder sales slow down a lot but the kits selling well. We hired our first engineer and now employ 4 people full time including myself.
We developed a new compression molder using air bag jack.
We bought a washing machine to wash all our scrap plastic before shredding and started shredding plastic in 50kg batches
We then ran out of room and outgrew the 1 car garage we was in.
We rented a second space just for plastic production. Machine building stays in same place. Making stuff has moved to the new shop. The shred plastic was getting all over the house and hard to keep everything clean. Now we have one room dedicated just to shredding and sorting plastic.
We participated in the Coke re-imagine plastic waste 2 day workshop that was held at the First Pacific Leadership Academy. Met a lot of people.
Of course not all smooth sailing.
Car problems earlier in the year curbed things. Employee attendance issues was the biggest headache. Monday hangover sickness is REAL. We hired and fired a lot of people. Despite paying well above minimum wage.
We lost out on some big opportunities because outside suppliers dropped the ball. To fix that, We bought a small CNC machine to make stuff from the sheets, and plans in the works for a larger industrial cnc machine.
Next year we will open our doors for Workaway guests. We hope to acquire a small truck like a Suzuki mini. Solar install in the new shop, develop the extrusion machine more, build more molds, basically do all the exciting projects in the upcoming v4.
We also hope to be able to participate in the local community more and employ more people along with organizing some beach cleanups.
@btmetz , Thank you for posting this. I admire your perseverance and ingenuity. I wish more builders and workspaces posted their real world successes and setbacks.
I think your adaptations of the machines to local conditions and availability has been a great contribution to the designs.
Just curious, what happens to all the student shredders after the thesis is done?
Thank you again for posting.
My difficulties involve workers actually showing up to work, pushing brooms, and simple assembly of all the parts I had made. Welding, and machining items is beyond the ability for most of my applicants. Pay rate is irrelevant. I have paid handsomely, and poorly and I have had the same results.
I recently had my son join the team. He just finished his board for aeronautical engineering and is learning things to take over a lot of the day to day operations. However, he is also frustrated at the difficulty of getting even simple housekeeping tasks performed by the people he supervises.
It is a universal issue in the Philippines and one of the primary reasons why the country is mired in poverty. My Filipino friends who own businesses have said the same things.
With Precious Plastic, we are promoting to those willing, but as in all things, you can lead a horse to water, but you can not make him drink. Those who want to improve their life will, and those who won’t, will not.
The thesis project machines usually end up becoming the property of the school. It does not really seem right, but that is the Philippine custom.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
